Rambler Bags Rolltop Handlebar Bag Review

Up until recently, I felt that a harness and removable drybag system was the be-all and end-all for handlebar setups. My usual mandate is light and tight. When bikepacking on singletrack, I want my bike to feel like a mountain bike, and I’m a believer that a small handlebar roll makes the most sense when riding technical terrain. A tight roll keeps the front end of the bike lightweight and affords a clear line of sight of the front wheel and trail ahead.

For everything beyond lightweight summer mountain bike trips, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by long flap-style handlebar and saddle bags, such as the Bags by Bird Piccolo I reviewed here and the Wizard Works Shazam here. What they lack in compactness is made up for by their functionality. Their top-loading design is a real treat for anyone who has primarily used handlebar rolls, providing easy access without getting off the bike and endless packing space due to their expandable construction.

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When Pennsylvania-based bag maker Rambler Bags sent over their mini panniers I reviewed a few weeks back, they also included their large roll-top handlebar bag. The bag was front and center for the entire duration of my 2,000-kilometre Australia trip and was close by during transit between pedaling, acting as my bar bag, home for my iPad, grocery hauler, tent bag, and carry-on with the addition of a simple shoulder strap. Since that trip, I’ve also snuck out on a couple of quick overnighters close to home, and I’m ready to report on how it has held up.

The Rambler Bags roll-top handlebar bag is unstructured, meaning it has no plastic liner to help keep its shape. Although, if you’d like a plastic liner, the bag has an integrated sleeve for one, and Rambler offers it as an add-on. It’s made to order in your choice of EcoPac X-Pac or waxed canvas with a 12L base volume that expands right up to 29L when unrolled. It has a large roll-top closure, two webbing straps with G-hook buckles that attach to two corresponding lengths of daisy chain webbing, and a smaller length of daisy chain on the back for attaching the bag to a headtube, fork, or seatpost if running it as a saddle bag. The upper attachment points are stabilized with a replaceable oak dowel and two included Voile Nano straps. Six foam spacers are also included, and there are two expandable pockets on each side for quick-access items.

All in all, the Rambler Bags roll-top bag is quite minimal. The two exterior pockets and roomy main compartment are all you get for organization, which makes it a great bag for stuffing awkward items into. It’s also compatible with their map pouch, floating webbing net, net harness, and fancy pouch if you want more. There are small drain holes in the base of the exterior pockets and a recycled water-resistant liner inside, and although it’s not 100% waterproof, the bag is extremely weather-resistant due to its construction, finished seams, and materials used. Waxed canvas bags can be further weatherproofed with the addition of waterproofing wax, which Rambler also offers.

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While Out Rambling

As mentioned, the roll-top bag came along on our 2,000-kilometre Australia bikepacking trip earlier this spring. We encountered all kinds of weather, from heavy rain and thunderstorms on Dan Hunt’s new Sydney to Summit route to pea gravel, sand, and singletrack along the Munda Biddi Trail in the west. After a few days of steady rain, the bag proved to hold up great in wet conditions. With the Rambler packed half-full and several rolls of the main closure, water wasn’t getting in. The G-hook buckles have locking clips, but I never closed them fully, as it made getting in and out of the bag much quicker. I found that even with the buckles open but looped through the webbing on the front of the bag, they would stay in place, especially when tightened down for riding.

Since I was running the bag without any kind of plastic liner, the bag ended up taking the shape of its contents. This makes packing the bag a cinch since you can get away with randomly stuffing bulky things like tents and puffy jackets inside, but it also means it ends up being slightly floppy. By this, I mean the single headtube attachment and foam spacer wasn’t enough to keep the bag from rubbing against the headtube of the bike, and after a while, it was folding in toward the frame. I suppose this wouldn’t be an issue with some strategic packing or the optional plastic liner, but it’s worth noting. Comparing the Rambler’s minimal design to something like the Bags by Bird Piccolo, which has an additional wooden dowel at the lower attachment point, it’s less stable in certain scenarios. Although a front rack isn’t required, I was glad to have one to provide some support.

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The lack of structure wasn’t an issue while riding, and the bag felt solid when loaded up riding gravel roads. However, for more technical riding, I’d appreciate some more stability. With that said, a large roll-top style bag is never my first choice for technical singletrack. I appreciated the two exterior pockets for stashing easy-to-reach items like snacks and multi-tools, and they often acted as an overflow area for when Emily was on grocery duty and came back with what looked like a week’s worth of food. An elastic drawstring weaves through the top of each pocket and up the side of the bag, providing additional security for taller items like bottles or asparagus shoots. I found the pockets to be a little short, and without a flap or lid, I wasn’t too keen on trusting any important small items to stay inside while riding bumpy terrain.

For most of the trip, I had the bag packed above the oak dowel and handlebar straps, which made using my standard bar-mounted GPS mount awkward. To get around this, I ended up using a sticky mount on the top tube, and my kLite dynamo light setup was adjustable enough to point up and over the bag. Even though it could have been packed smaller, we always find a way to fill our bags up, which is perhaps the biggest con of large top-loading bags. It’s also a wide bag, at approximately 14” wide, and the widest strap position is 10” apart, which doesn’t leave much room for your hands on certain setups. I had plenty of room when installed on a wide Curve Walmer bar with two foam spacers in use, but I could see the width being a problem for anyone with narrower bars. Rambler also offers a smaller 12” wide version of the roll-top bag with a 7-16L capacity.

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Even though it’s a common add-on, I’ve never had a good reason to use a shoulder strap with a handlebar bag. This time around, having the strap and dedicated buckles for it to hook onto proved incredibly useful. It turned out that the lack of structure and exterior features made for a great shoulder bag while using transit or as a carry-on for our flights. It’s a big bag, but when packed strategically for transit, it never felt cumbersome while walking.

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• Material (as tested): EcoPac X-Pac
• Weight: 514g (1.1lbs)
• Dimensions: 14” x 6.5” x 8-22” (WxDxH)
• Place of Manufacture: Pennsylvania, USA
• Price: $230 USD
• Manufacturer’s Details: RamblerBags.com

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